defenderoftexelfandomcom-20200213-history
Connect the Dots
For a time, players were suspicious that this was D.O.T.'s last event, as there were no updates or events for several weeks succeeding Connect the Dots. : "As you see, we are not holding events currently. Unfortunately we are unable to share any further detail about future events or the future of the game." - DoT Support Team http://defenderoftexel.com/showthread.php?tid=23970 However a closure announcement was published an entire month later, on 15 May, so it has now been confirmed that Connect the Dots was D.O.T.'s final event. Story Summary This story is the sixth in a literary format, and follows a series which began in February 2015. It is probably narrated by the host reward fighter Thanusa - Palmithe - Elinei, and features Dub - Anugia - Kibisegi (Mother's Mouth, or the Mouth, in reference to the second mouth he possesses on his torso) as a modern Texeli prophet and Tuntle - Evtucle - Meleacr as a chef in a tavern. References are made to players Asmodaios and Technomaestro in this story. A notable feature of this story is the revelation that the Exos are commanded by humans from the same earth that defenders come from. It is explained that the people of earth attempt to invade Texel out of desperation because they exhaust earth's resources. Secondly, the narrator confirms what had been first mentioned in the story of The War Within, that the war with the Exos is over. Twofers are a new concept introduced, which are defenders who later become fighters in the world of Texel - however they both exist at the same time in Texel, due to the time travel capabilities of future earth. Asmodaios, a wikipedia editor, is described as the very first twofer, and Technomaestro, a forum member, is clamoring to become one. Similarly it is revealed that humans can undergo a mysterious process referred to colloquially as 'taking the dot' (which can be used in any tense, e.g. took the dot) and become a fighter. However this is much simpler than becoming a twofer, for those that take the dot lose their physical humanity in order to become a Texeli fighter. Thanusa - Palmithe - Elinei is explained to have taken the dot. She clearly remains human-like nonetheless, as she is in tribe Xana, and the story describes her features as majorly human. This story explains clearly the reason for the emptying of many populous Texel towns and cities: that the Texeli have become wanderers and adventurers upon the end of the war with the Exos. This empty landscape had been described in the Beautiful Dreamers story previously however it was not until Connect the Dots that the reason for this was revealed. Story Yesterday, I spoke to Kibisegi, whom the heather-pickers call Mother's Mouth. I've known him all my life, which is far less impressive than it sounds, seeing that he is (literally) old as the hills and I have existed all of two years in this form. The plains seem larger than they used to be as I traverse it on the Mouth's errand today. I've removed my boots and the land is whole and pliant beneath my feet, almost elastic. It's all I can do not to sprint, but I know I need to pace myself for the long run to the Western Wells. I haven't seen a soul all morning, and don't expect to all afternoon. Folk have moved on and out, leaving behind entire empty villages. Here--a smithy. There--a gaze marked by a cairn. Near the overgrown path, an untenanted threadhouse, a pebble-stow, and a tittle mill. They look long-abandoned, a hundred years vacant, but I know that some of these hearths were stoked not more than a hundred days ago. The thought fills my heart and it's all I can do not to to leap over the heathers, to run with the train of my white dress streaming behind me. I used to be human. Kibisegi is not perturbed by this; it's more common for defenders to "take the dot" and beat their tablets into halberds. Kibisegi saves his unease for the twofers, who play with time to exist simultaneously as both a defender and a fighter. Asmodaios was the first, and I have seen more than one she-dragon fork her claws at Sidonai-who-is-to-be-Osmodeus when he passes close. I know that Kibisegi has pressed them for when, but do most of us know what we'll do in the future, let alone exactly when? At least a twofer knows that he will do it, because he has already. Just past noon, I come to the edge of a large crater densely lined with steel-gray crystals, each the size of my fist. A generous skirt of them spills over the rim like a pastry circle draped over a pie dish. Judging from the imprint, it must have been a huge ship that was docked here, bigger than any I've seen, and I've raided my share of exo plants. Squatting on my haunches, I trace the razor-clean arc of the rim, watching my reflection ripple and vanish on the glittering facets. Hundreds of folk would have perished here, broken down like timber into pulp. But even the thought of drones streaming out toward the defenseless hamlets can't dim my sense of exhilaration. I mourn the dead--the word a dowry from my human past--but I know that we are now more, so much more than we were content to be. United, we were burghers and beggars; scattered, we've become adventurers. The crystals slide out of the earth like dandelions, stubborn at first, then yielding meekly. Opaque and heavy, these are different from regular ixstones. The weight of two worlds. Sitting on the grass with stockings full of crystals, I tilt my face up to the sun, a new sun for a new life. A life eternal--or at least long enough to get it right. That was all the exos wanted, the same as me. Do we both get our wish? Have we already? The night has opened its thousand eyes by the time I jog into the Western Wells. Tuntle waves from the makeshift kitchen, sending scalding drops flying from his skewer of buttered onions as the rest of the diners hide behind their flatbreads in mock protest. Behind his polished desk, the Mouth adjusts the shade of a banker's lamp and eyes my improvised bandoliers, but wisely holds his tongue. I shrug out of one, then the other, untying the stockings to lay out the two dozen crystals in the correct pattern. The Mouth blows red smoke over them and in the haze, ghosts appear: A wan-faced man bent over schematics of bristling robots. A lanky commander in front of a screen displaying images of a gallant, a dragon, and a winged woman. Pilots huddled in chairs, asleep, the harsh light of their consoles warring with the blackness of space beyond the portholes. A woman holding aloft a piece of white nux. Slight figures, hardly more than children, loading thousands of black canisters into a ship's holds, glowing wave forms crawling slowly across each container's glassy surface. All the ghosts have preternaturally smooth faces and limbs, regular as putty. They are human. "Told you," I tell the Mouth lightly, as though I were not holding my breath a moment ago. "Those are our great-great-grandkids at best. None of that technology is close to being invented." He frowns at me. "Even so, who's to say how far off your future is? Your descendants will exhaust your world, defeat Gaia itself. And then they will build those ships and drones, and come for Texel across space and time. Thousands will perish. Or rather, they already have." He flutters his claws over the gray crystals. "Some would find it hard to fight alongside defenders, if the truth were known." "The war is over, Kibisegi," I realize as I say it we have never spoken this fact out loud. "It is over. When those craters first began appearing three moons ago, we thought it was a fluke. But now, we've seen every exo ship...metabolized within a few hours. This world--''our world--has learned to defend itself. All we have to do is mop up the stray drones and raiders, and we've won." "How are we to know they won't just go back and try again?" The Mouth looks downright haunted for a moment, then throws up his great violet paws. "I like not this business with timelines." Rolling his eyes comically, he tips all but one crystal into his maw. "Speaking of which, there's another defender clamoring to become a twofer, just arrived this morning. You wouldn't be interested in talking with him, would you? Convince him to just take the dot?" I shake my head, smiling. "He wants a foot in both worlds, Kibisegi. Humanity's not what it used to be, but I can understand why the Twofers want to hold onto it." "Who wants to live forever, eh." The Mouth sighs and rises to his feet, absently patting his sides. "I'll have a word with Technomaestro then. He may not like what he hears-but he's earned the right to hear it." "He's not the only one," I remind him. "What's the plan? How do we keep things from getting out of hand?" "Unseemly, this human passion for planning," the Mouth says without rancor. "What plan is there to make? Shall we send messengers to vacant villages and invisible markets? Folk are scattered far and wide, driven by such passions as this world has never seen. The Age of Wonder is upon us, and Wander too. The truth will spread as quickly or slowly as distance--and discernment--decree." Sighing again, he flicks off the lamp. "The idea has already occurred to many, I assure you. But we have an eternity to... get over it." I watch him head towards the light and laughter, an old Texeli unafraid to inhabit a new world. I think I'll stay here a bit longer, in the dark. Consider the future, the one that's happened already and the one to come. Then I'll pick up my crystal off the desk and walk out into the night. I won't need to pace myself. I have an eternity to get where I'm going. Summary This event is a MOB RAID event. Twice a day, players join a' MOB''' (a team of many players) and compete against another MOB. Players earn points by fighting and defeating RAID BOSSES that appear while traveling in the event area. Raid bosses are typically hard to defeat by one player, but there are rewards for just attacking a boss, depending on whether you attacked with 1 BP or 3 BP. Upon defeating a boss, players get awarded points for top 3 MVP spots, as well as prizes for "clinching" (finishing) the boss, and a raid prize for participating. Bosses that are spawned in a MOB are visible to both teams and can be attacked by anyone in those teams. Mob raids feature salvos which increase based on consecutive boss battles, providing point boost and extra EDGE 'during battles. Salvos are more quickly increased if 3 BP are used, however you will not affect a salvo if you were the last person to attack a boss in your '''MOB '(i.e., you must alternate attacks). At the end of twelve-hour period, whichever mob camp has the most points receives a "primacy" prize and the loser camp receives a "consolation" prize. The top 20 MVPs on both teams also receive their own MVP prizes slightly different depending if you won or lost, and all participants are awarded 10 Pixite. The event is divided into two parts, the "First half" and the "Second half." The more mobs you win in a half, the better your primacy reward is. In this event, the featured prize was one Limmo for sixth and seventh primacy prizes in both the First and Second half. In this event, the fighter reward for the First half was from the Dub - Anugia - Kibisegi line, and from the Second half the reward was from the Thanusa - Palmithe - Elinei line. This event also featured '''BP Bosses, or Shenkers. At certain hours of the day (specifics to come) the INFO '''screen would update players with the notification of "BP Boss Sighted!", and this would appear also during '''JOURNEYS. In the first 30 minutes of the hour, Level 30 Shenkers would be able to be spawned like any other boss. From 30 minutes onwards, Level 60 Shenkers would be available, and from 45 minutes, Level 80 Shenkers would be available. BP Bosses are notable for being extroardinarily difficult to fight because they take small amounts of damage and deal very significant damage. Shenkers often use the ability Thwart All, which is a 2nd Priority skill, meaning it PROCS '''before most other skills. Their other attack is called '''ENEMY ENGAGED, which is a natural single target attack that is very weak in comparison. BP Bosses are also notable for only receiving damage in the range of 4-9, meaning they cannot receive damage below 4 nor above 9. Players have devised specific LEVIES '''to fight Shenkers, such as using fighters with the Daze skill to lessen the magical damage of Thwart All, and coupling them with Venting fighters, who respond to the Shenker's skill attacks. This allows players to make a significant amount of '''POINTS '''off these bosses, as points are awarded based off the damage dealt to the Boss, unlike normal bosses. They still award '''POINTS '''for '''MVPs '''and '''CLINCHERS, however. Typically these bosses are very popular in MOBS, and it is often very competitive to receive the MVP '''prize for them at any level. They are also the only boss to keep its name and sprites between events; the other bosses change these every time. Event Units The fighters of this event could be attained by scoring on the leaderboard, being a member of a winning host mob, completing special achievements and completing special journeys. One Limmo was awarded by completing the entire special journey, one Limmo was awarded for earning five million points, and four Limmos were awarded for completing various achievements. Fighters that were released in past '''MOB RAID events were awarded HERO EDGE throughout this event, as well as some of the fighters available in this event itself. They are the following (please note: this list is not exhaustive. There are at least ten fighters missing on this list with 50% edge or less): CTD Edged Fighters A.png CTD Edged Fighters B.png Achievements __FORCETOC__ Category:Mob Raid Category:Events Category:Short story